I *love* tragic endings !

[augustinapeach]

No: HPFGUIDX 85580

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" 
<susiequsie23 at s...> wrote:
> Iris wrote:
On the other hand, I would be glad if I could shut the book 
saying "He did it, he survived". However, I'm not sure this ending 
would be as satisfying to him as we could imagine. 
> > First, as Joseph Campbell wrote, it's difficult to a hero to find 
his own place in the world he saved. Actually, he is not in the same 
world anymore, because the initiation he went through put him in 
another dimension. When Harry defeats Voldemort, he will be 
definitely different from his friends and from the other wizards. 
> > 
> > Siriusly Snapey Susan wrote:
> What about the possibility that sometime before the final battle 
[we all seem to be assuming it will be some big monstrous final 
battle, anyway], MANY MORE wizards & witches will join the ranks of 
those willing to fight--The Order, Dumbledore's Army, perhaps a new 
organization or army?  What if, even if it IS Harry who has to be the 
one to kill Voldemort, hundreds of others are right there beside him, 
pushing back & eliminating Voldy's Death Eaters?  (snip) In short, I 
don't see that it would have to be seen as "all Harry"  again.  Look 
at SS/PS.  Harry gets 60 points for his actions, yes, but Hermione & 
Ron each get 50, and Neville gets 10.  Harry DIDN'T do it all by 
himself then.  And look at what the members of the DA and the Order 
already did in the Ministry of Magic near the end of Book Five.  No 
way Harry could have survived if it had been just HIM.  With another 
year or two to build up to the climactic battle, who's to say he 
won't then be surrounded by a huge number of "helpers", which will 
take much of the pressure off of him?  

Now AP:

I agree with you, Susan.  I think one of the lessons JKR is teaching 
us in this series is the absolute necessity of working together.  I 
read a review once that bashed Harry as a type of non-heroic, spoiled 
athlete because he had help in everything he had accomplished.  My 
response is that Harry is not the typical hero that Campbell 
describes and that we've seen deified in movies like "Rambo" (and 
many, many others).  Harry is able to do the extraordinary things he 
does not only because he has innate abilities and courage but also 
because he has the good sense to take advantage of the help available 
to him, whether it is Hermione's knowledge or the Sorting Hat Fawkes 
brought to him.  Even if he ends up alone in the final battle (as he 
always seems too), he wouldn't have gotten to that battle without 
working with someone else.  

I think there are some interesting ideas related to this "theme" in 
OoP.  During his angry phase, Harry seems to forget that others 
helped him.  He feels hurt and angry for being left in the dark when 
he's thinks he's the one who has done all the fighting recently 
(don't have my book with me, so can't cite canon).  It's like he is 
falling into thinking of himself as that "do it alone" kind of hero.  
He was ready to rush off to the MoM alone to rescue Sirius.  That 
would probably have been disastrous. I think JKR has lessons in store 
for Harry.  Even though Harry doesn't realize it at the end of OoP, I 
think he is going to come to see that the kind of situation you've 
outlined above is what it will take to defeat Voldemort.   Being a 
hero doesn't always mean going it alone; sometimes it may mean being 
willing to recognize and use the combined strengths of many people -- 
or in this case, magical beings.  The clue, IMO, is Hermione's 
problem with her runes test -- that she mixed up the runes 
for "partnership" and "defense."  I don't think it is an accident 
that she mixed up those two words, and I don't think it is a 
reflection on Hermione's personality (an argument I saw in a post on 
this board once).  I think JKR is dropping a big ole' hint!